Attack of the Swine Flu

Swine flu is visibly among us here at SGJA Girls' Middle School (more about swine flu at SGJA). It's what you see (face masks!) and what you don't see (students absent). The phenomenon of face masks is what I find curious. These aren't just simple paper and string. Most are cloth, and other with design. With some convincing, I got some students to model.

I've started a lot of classes by asking "Who's sick?", then going over the vocabulary for headache, fever, sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, stomach ache, etc. The only consistent smiling faces are the stickers I give to students. You can see the timeline of smiley faces, happy smiley people to smiley nurse and doctor...

What my 엄마 did to me UPDATE

봉숭아=pong-soong-ah=crushed flower ointment applied to nails that lasts for several months

It's been almost two months since my Awm-ma 봉숭아-ed my fingernails (original post). There's still orange on my nails, but it's growing out. What do you think? Is my nailbed color prettier than normal?

Too Much 드라마

드라마 = deu-ra-ma = drama

Since coming to Seogwipo, I've completed 4 Korean dramas. Watching these drama has had its effects, both beneficial and detrimental. I’ve picked up some common conversational phrases and can use the pop culture knowledge to connect with my students (the good), however, I have lost a significant amount of time and sleep watching these dramas (the bad). Moreover, once I start I can’t stop (the ugly). This post is an outlet of my guilt of time lost, allowing me to turn all those lost hours into something more productive and possibly academic. What follows is my analysis, plot formula and common elements, of Korean dramas. Soon, I’ll have personal notes on the dramas, how the drama fits the formula and the common elements.

REFERENCE

Read 2/4 as 2 of the 4 dramas, 4/4 as 4 of the 4 dramas, etc.

Mr. A is the male lead.

Miss B is the female lead.

Mr. A and Miss B are the leading lovers.

Mr. X is the male competing for Miss B’s love.

Miss Y is the female competing for Mr. A’s love.

Mr. A, Miss B, and Mr. X form the primary love triangle.

(Photos are Mr. A, Miss B, Mr. X, and Miss Y)

DRAMAS

WS = Winter Sonata (2002, 20 episodes)

BBF = Boys Before Flowers (2009, 25 episodes)

TCYL = Take Care of the Young Lady (2009, 16 episodes)

CP = 1st Shop of the Coffee Prince (2007, 17 episodes)

An episode is one hour. Alicia has watched 20+25+16+17 hours of Korean drama (too much!).

FORMULA

meeting >> primary obstacles >> mutual profession >> secondary obstacles >> break-ups and make-ups >> voluntary time apart >> reunification

Meeting: The first episode of course introductory, but also features the meeting of Mr. A and Miss B. In 2/4 dramas, both Mr. A and Miss B have strong and stubborn personalities, making this meeting quite a clash.

Primary Obstacles: These obstacles prevent Mr. A and Miss B from saying or even realizing that they have fallen in love with the other. Sometimes these obstacles are pre-existing, like a relationship between Miss B and Mr. X or between Mr. A and Miss Y. Another obstacle could be the initial clash of personalities and/or difference in social status.

Mutual Profession: After Mr. A and Miss B overcome primary obstacles, they can and do admit their love for each other. What follows is a series of cutesy, drama-free scenes of them being happy together. Don’t worry, this doesn’t last for long…

Secondary Obstacles: These obstacles are external to Mr. A and Miss B; they are forces fighting to separate Mr. A and Miss B. In 4/4 dramas, family objections are an issue, usually due to social status. Other secondary obstacles include a persistent fight from Mr. X and/or Miss Y, an arranged marriage, memory loss (2/4), etc.

Break-ups and make-ups: The most dramatic episodes of a Korean drama is those featuring break-ups and make-ups. The initial break-ups occur before the mutual affirmation of love; these break-ups are rather fights and arguments between Mr. A and Miss B that result from the sexual tension between them. As the drama continues, the break-ups and consequent break-ups become more dramatic and emotional (see Beach dates). In WS and BBF, the break-ups and make-ups occurred so often that it became tiring for me the viewer.

Voluntary time apart: After the final make-up, when all conflicts have been resolved, when the viewer finally thinks that Mr. A and Miss B can be together, they decide to spend time apart. This usually was over a period of years (3/4 dramas, WS=3 years, BBF=4 years, CP=2 years). In 3/4 dramas, this time apart resolved a final obstacle.

Reunification: This is (finally!) the happy ending for Mr. A and Miss B. Both the voluntary time apart and reunification scenes occur in the final episode of the drama. For 2/4 dramas, a future marriage between Mr. A and Miss B was explicit.

COMMON ELEMENTS
love triangle(s) , first loves and soulmates, social status, astrological necklace, clothes color symbolism, race to Miss B, beach date breakups, drunk piggybacks, soundtrack, casting

Love Triangle(s): The love triangle is quintessential in a romance Korean drama. In all of the dramas, the central , primary love triangle is 2 men and a woman (Mr. A, Miss B, and Mr. X). From the beginning, it is explicitly clear who is Mr. A and who is Miss B; the drama stems from all the obstacles preventing this match. Although Miss Y is competing for Mr. A, her role is smaller and, in my opinion, is more an obstacle rather than a part of the love triangle. In 2/4 dramas, Mr. X and Miss Y become a couple, as part of the many love subplots. Mr. X and Miss Y aren’t necessarily evil; sometimes they’re pure-hearted people, making the drama more heartbreaking.

First Loves and Soulmates: Korean dramas put a large sentimental stress on first loves; no one ever forgets or sometimes doesn’t even fall out of love with their first love. On a similar note, soulmates exist. The characters endure so much emotional suffering because they are soulmates; they are meant to be together, they must be together. Interestingly, in BBF, Miss B acknowledges that Mr. X is her soulmate, but that she loves Mr. A. In 3/4 dramas, characters refer to their love of another character (outside the central couple) as habits; they have loved the other for so long or so stubbornly that it has become a habit rather than love. This love habit becomes an obstacle that must be broken for Mr. A and Miss B to be together.

Social Status: Koreans love a good Cinderella story. In 3/4 dramas, one of the leads is poor the other is disgustingly rich. The dramas create and treat the rich lead lover character as modern royalty; they are the heirs of large business conglomerates. As such, they begin the drama as lazy, uncaring, out-of-touch snobs. It is up to the poor lover, who has endured the hardships of semi-poverty (which is linked to their humanity), to change the personality of their rich lover. Naturally, the difference in social status becomes an obstacle opposing Mr. A and Miss B.

Astrological Necklace: In 3/4 dramas, there is an exchange of astrological jewelry (WS = Polaris necklace, BBF = star necklace with moon in middle, TCYL = Sagittarius necklace). All signify that the receiver belongs and/or cannot escape from their lover. The fourth drama did have a jewelry exchange, however, it was a simple earring. Considering the circumstances (Mr. A thinks Miss B is a boy), a necklace exchange could not have happened.

Clothes: Symbolism, using clothing and colors, is by no means subtle. In WS, Mr. A usually wears green, Miss B wears yellow, and Mr. X wears blue. For BBF, Mr. A wears black (indicating his initial hot-tempered snotty character) whereas Mr. X wears white (this Mr. X is the absolute Mr. Perfect ). One scene in TCYL features Miss B in a white dress and Mr. A in a black suit and sneakily poses them to imply bride and groom. Clothes are important in CP because Mr. A (as well as other characters) mistake Miss B for a boy because of the clothes she wears.

Race to Miss B: The competition between Mr. A and Mr. X manifests in a race between the two men. In both WS and BBF, Miss B runs off alone with both Mr. A and Mr. X looking for her. The man that finds her first earns a “winner” status. In BBF, Miss B is drowning, and before Mr. A can even move to rescue her, Mr. X rushes in to save her.

Beach date: Watch out for the beach! In all 4 dramas, a happy, blissful date on the beach was followed by either Mr. A or Miss B (the leaver) leaving (breaking-up with) the other. The leaver has already decided that they must leave the other, making the beach time together obviously bittersweet and painful for them. The leaver does not leave because they want to, but because obstacles dictate that the couple cannot be together; they believe that they are breaking-up for the other’s good, contributing to the drama. The party that is left usually does not know of the obstacle and therefore left feeling hurt and confused. So, if you ever find yourself in a Korean drama, be wary of going to the beach!

Drunk Piggybacks: In all dramas, either Mr. A or Miss B got so drunk that the other had to take care of them. In 2/4 dramas, the drunk character was piggybacked. In the other dramas, although the drinker did not receive a piggyback, their lover accommodated them for the night. The drinking also allows for a truthful exchange between Mr. A and Miss B.

Soundtrack: Every drama has a set of 3-4 songs that is played in EVERY episode. When the song plays, there is a series of several scenes without dialogue. While watching the dramas, I found these songs annoying. However, the songs are so strongly associated with the drama, they act as a mental trigger.

Casting: These dramas are all connected in someway by a casting overlap. The Miss B in TCYL and CP are the same actress. The grandmother of Mr. A in BBF and CP are the same actress. The boss of Miss B in WS and the head maid for Miss B in TCYL are the same actress. I’ve also seen the actors in these dramas in other dramas I’ve briefly watched with my family on TV. In my opinion, Hallyu (Korean Hollywood) is relatively small and closed off (language barriers), leading to this phenomenon of overlapping cast. Korean dramas have also started casting Korean pop stars to attract viewers; for example, the Mr. Y in BBF is the leader of the Kpop band SS501.

I tried to stick by my resolution of no more dramas, especially now that my favorite American TV shows (The Office, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother) have started their seasons. However, JongIn told me of another drama that had recently started. Unfortunately, I was hanging out in the living room area when it came on tv…So, I’ve started drama #5, IRIS. My only self-defense is that it’s a spy action drama (a refreshing change from the romance soapy dramas), and it has been given one of the biggest budgets for a drama. That’s two more hours of my life each week lost…

Family Filled Weekend

Besides Chuseok, it was a family-fun-filled weekend. Just to jog your memory, my homestay family is...

아빠 (Ah-ppa): father, a civil engineer
엄마 (Awm-ma): mother, part-time assistant for Ah-ppa and part-time housewife
종인 (jong-een=JongIn, on left): homestay sister #1, middle school student (my student)
선미 (sawn-me=SanMi, second left): homestay sister #2, college student currently studying for TOEIC, an English test, in Jeju City



Friday with Ah-ppa, JongIn, and SanMi
산굼부리=San-koom-boo-ri=Sangumburi
While Awm-ma was cooking for Chuseok, the four of us went to Samkumbori. All they told me was that it was "a beautiful place". Samkumbori is a parasitic volcano east of Hallasan that has been landscaped with walks. True to their translation, it was a beautiful place; from Samkumbori, we could see the many smaller hills and mountains on Jeju. Unfortunately, those pictures didn't turn out due to the cloudcast, however the 100+ other pictures (mostly people pictures) did! SanMi and JongIn love taking pictures and insisted on many: together, 'solo-portraits', walking, sitting, standing in the tall grass, etc. SanMi even asked for a picture with the European tourists we ran into.

닭샤브샤브=dak-shya-beu-shya-beu=chicken shya-bu shya-bu
After Sankumburi, we had a great 3-course meal called 닭샤부샤부 (see what I ate here! except the ramen). First was the Sha-bu Sha-bu, a hot pot dish, in which vegetables and thin slices of meat are cooked in boiling water then eaten with a dipping sauce. Second, we were serve an entire chicken, I believe also boiled. Finally, third, was a pea and rice porridge. This was my first meal dining out with the family. On the way back home, we stopped at a TV-set (opposed to movie set). A drama that had just finished airing, had shot mansion scenes on Jeju. The set was empty, now a curiousity open to the public. This lead to many more photo opportunities!

Saturday, Chuseok
새섬=Say-Sawm= Seh Island
After the Chuseok meals, the entire family and I went to Seh Island. The city has just finished building a beautriful pedestrian bridge (reminiscent of the Seogwipo World Cup Stadium) to the island which has a 1.3km walkway. Because of Chuseok, the bridge and island were teeming with people. I couldn't see much of the island at night, but I hope to go back during the day to get some pictures! The bridge, on the other hand, was the night-time attraction with all its rainbow lights.

Sunday, with Ah-ppa and SanMi
영실코스=yawng-shil kko-seu=Yeongsil Course
For the third time, I trekked up Hallasan, but this time up Yeongsil Course. This trail was much steeper and much more scenic than the Seongpanak Course. However, this trail didn't go to the top; instead, the trail flattens at the top with a nice view looking up at the crater. As is protocol, we had a warm cup of ramen at the trail end. Yeongsil course will be gorgeous when the leaves change color (soon!) and also when the Hallasan wildflowers come out in spring!

My bioengineering degree has prepared me for life on Jeju...
(the tender cactus chocolate is made with cactus powder through vacuum lyophilization)

Happy 추석!

주석=chu-seok=Korean harvest holiday, date based on the lunar calendar

Chuseok is a Korean holiday closely associated with the American Thanksgiving, even dubbed the Korean Thanksgiving, but apparently, someone wants some differentiation (Korean Times article). However, like Thanksgiving, there's lots of family and lots of food! I learned to wish my students, the teachers, and friends a happy Chuseok in Korean (추석 잘 보내세요= Chu-seok chal po-nay-say-yo). There was some debate on whether the English equivalent would be 'Merry Chuseok' or 'Happy Chuseok'; 'Happy Chuseok' seemed to be the winner.

Celebration, especially food and time of day, varies somewhat (I believe), region to region and family to family. Some of the other ETAs had purchased hanbok (Korean traditional dress), some didn't. The women in my homestay family didn't wear hanbok, and the men wore, what is my best guess, white hanbok. Chuseok was quite a busy holiday; here's my experience!

Friday: Awm-ma leaves to cook all day with relatives. She brings back son-pyeon, a traditional rice cake made for Chuseok.

Saturday, 7am: We (Awm-ma, Ah-ppa, JongIn, SanMi, and I) leave the apartment to go to the home of one of Ah-ppa's (I think) elder relatives.

7:30am: We arrive. Most of the men are dressed in the white hanbok, but 2 or 3 are in suits. The women are in the kitchen working on food preparations. I'm shuffled into a room with JongIn, SanMi, and other children (one of which turns out to be my student). There's no chairs or couches anywhere, so we all sit on the floor. For about an hour and a half....until...

9:00am: The men start praying to the ancestors. There's a room with tables beautifully set with food (for the ancestors). Just outside the room, with the sliding door open, the men pray/bow in turns. There's a certain form for the bowing: on the knees bowing down, then almost standing up, then bowing again. There was a particular order of who bowed when, generally oldest to youngest. After the bowing, several men went into the room, but, again, I'm not sure what happened. I was watching from on side of the room, only observing.

9:30am: We eat! Floor table are set up in several rooms. Like before, I'm still with the children, separated from everyone else. The meal is divided into banchan, meaning many small (side) dishes. The female relatives are serving all the dishes to the different tables, which seem to be separated throughout the house. There's seaweed soup, rice, a vegetable dish (sprouts, bracken, green onion?), okdam (a Jeju specialty, golden pan-fried fish), beef and pork cooked on skewers, small pan-fried fish cakes, and fruit. Eating the meal was quick, no more than 20min. This is where cultures are much different; whereas Americans will typically slowly socialize during the Thanksgiving meal, this occurred much less so during the Chuseok meal. A small difference, but one I noted, was that the food was all cold (not bad, just cold). All the food had been prepared the day before, plus we're were eating quite early in the morning. Immediately, the dishes (think 6-7 small dishes x 8 servings) were gathered, again by the females, and then washed.

10:30am: Part 2! I had tried asking my homestay sister what would happen Chuseok day, but never really understood. I think that even my sisters were not quite sure themselves. So when we went to the second house (within walking distance of the first), I was surprised. This was still the father's side of the family; some of the relatives I had seen at the first house, some were new. This time, I was in the kitchen with the females (old and young). After some talking and socializing, almost the exact same meal was served again. Having not expected 2 morning meals, I only ate a little. Plus, being in the kitchen, we ate on the the floor (no tables). And again, after a short meal, the women immediately start washing the dishes.

11:30am: With SanMi, I walk back to the first house. We have time to relax; she watches TV while I lay down to nap.

2:30pm: We (Awm-ma, Ah-ppa, JongIn, SanMi, and I) leave to go home. They then tell me that, after a short rest, we will go Awm-ma's family for more Chuseok celebration (round 2).

3:45pm: After a short hour at the apartment, they leave. Seeing that I was generally tired, they suggested I could stay home to rest, especially since it will be more of the same (JongIn tells me this in English). I struggle with the decision: I am tired, but I do want to show I want to be part of the family, but I don't want to be a burden and take away from time with their extended family, so on and so forth. I decided to stay and rest, which was probably the better decision.

9:00pm: The homestay family returns, but only to pick me up. They tell me that this is to go pray to the moon (which is full). Read more about what happened in the Family Weekend post (coming soon!).

Quite cultural opportunity! I was thankful to be so warmly welcomed on such a personal and family holiday; some ETAs did not celebrate the holiday with their homestay families (mutual ETA/homestay family decision) and instead traveled. Chuseok is similar to Thanksgiving in terms of family gathering for a meal, especially a meal representing thanks. However, there are many, many, many differences.

The difference I'm keen on is the different roles of the men and women. Before Chuseok occurred, I had asked some of my students (remember, all girls), about the holiday. There was general discontent that the holiday had fallen on a weekend (only one day off school! as opposed to two) and midterms were soon (boo studying on a holiday weekend). But other comments caught my attention, like, "I used to like Chuseok, but now it's too much work/busy". After Chuseok, I understood why; the women took charge of the cooking, serving, and cleaning. My students are at the age where they are starting to take on this role. For women, Chuseok is indeed a very busy, maybe stressful holiday. The men are women were generally separate. At the second home (round 1), the women were in the kitchen and the men in a 'living room' type area watching a soccer game (I was a bit envious). SanMi talked to me about this during our walk from house 2 back to house 1, with the slight sentiment that 'it's not fair'.

Sorry, no pictures this post! Imagine a foreigner showing up with a camera to your Thanksgiving feast. I decided to not be that foreigner. More pictures next time!

The Korean 화장실

화장실=hwa-jang-shil=bathroom

A lot of things in Korea are different: the food, the language, the customs, and the bathroom....

This is the bathroom at my homestay, a fairly average Korean bathroom. The only things you can't see is the window above the tub, the mirror above the sink, and the cupboard above the toilet.

Difference #1: Toilet Paper

Korean plumbing isn't designed to handle toilet paper. This was the same in the dorms in Chuncheon. It was hard and took several weeks, but I've overcome my natural habit of throwing the toilet paper in the toilet. Some public bathrooms don't provide paper, which is confusing when you look at the trash can and it's full (most Koreans always have a solid supply of tissue on their person).

Difference #2: Showering

I haven't had a good stand-up shower since I moved to Seogwipo. Because water is an expensive resource, most Koreans don't run a continuous shower from a fixed shower head and instead use a hand-held nozzle. So, using the handheld nozzle, turn the water on, rinse, turn the water off, soap up/shampoo/conditioner, turn water back on, rinse, turn the water off, repeat as necessary.

Difference #3: Shower Curtain

There is none. It is expected that water will get all over the bathroom, especially since the nozzle is hand-held. There window is the only ventilation. If I go into the bathroom after someone else has showered and the window is closed, it feels like a mini-tropical rain forest. After I shower, even with the window open, the water hangs in the air. Because of this, I can never get completely dry; I towel off and then the water collects again on my skin.

Difference #4: Hot Water

If water's expensive, then hot water is even more so. Since it was still summer weather when I arrived, the hot water was never on, and the showers I took were freezing. This gave me more motivation to go on a run and then shower; I could handle the cold water better. Now that the weather has cooled off, the family has shown me the hot water button. Press the button to turn the heater on, and press the button after your shower to turn the heater off. This habit took me about a week to form--I would always remember to turn the water on but usually forgot to turn it off. Unfortunately, the button is located just inside the master bedroom. I have to carefully consider when I take my showers so as not to disrupt the parents' privacy.

Difference #5: Towels

The Korea Handbook I was sent advised bringing a towel from home. Why? Because Korean towels are SMALL. It's meant only to dry yourself, not wrap around your body. I did bring a towel from home (a suitcase spacewaster). When I first arrived, my Ahmma didn't let me take it in the bathroom. Instead, I use their towels. There's a whole stock (8+) in the cupboard above the toilet. No one has their own towel; use once and throw in the laundry. I save my big towel for my hair once I go back to my room. Since the Korean towels can't body wrap, everyone changes back into clothing (usually transitional clothing, like shorts & a thsirt) in the bathroom.

Difference #6: No In-Bathroom Prep

The bathroom is only meant for showering, brushing teeth, and toilet usage. That and there's only one bathroom for four people. All make-up, hair-drying, hair-straightening, etc., I do in my room, which is difficult because there's not a mirror on the wall.

Difference #7: Bathroom Slippers

Remember, no wearing shoes in the house. But don't go into the bathroom barefoot. (??) Use the bathroom sandals. This prevents water (the bathroom floor is always wet) from being tracked onto the floor outside the bathroom. There's only one pair that everyone uses. I try not to think about that too much...

Difference #8: Hair

This isn't a bathroom difference, but it's related. Korean hair (this opinion is mostly based on the experience with my host family) dries quickly. And straight. Also, the selection of conditioner at the store leads me to believe that most Kroeans use a shampoo/conditioner mix, which I can't do. My Pantene conditioner that I had been using since I arrived ran out only 2 weeks ago (July 5th to mid-September). The bottle labeled 'Rinse' that I brought at the mart works but isn't exactly what I was expecting.

This recent flurry of posts has been brought to you by class scheduling changes for the Chuseok holiday and rainy days. I would like to keep the blog updated, but teaching, taekwondo, being part of 2 families, and training is taking some time. I'll do my best!

Koreans Love Their 팝 스타

팝 스타 = ppahb seu-tah = pop star

It's obvious...Koreans love their K-pop (Korean pop) stars. They're on tv all the time, in advertisements everywhere, and inspire the desk graffiti that my girls do ('TVXQ', 'Big Bang', '2PM', 'Shinee') are written all over the desks and chairs in my classroom).

In addition, one of the top three most read articles of the Korean Times features a pop star or actor. Today, the most read: Jae-beom Leaves 2PM (a 7 member boy band)! The third most read: Seoul Asks NK (North Korea) to Apologize for Deadly Flood. [FYI, there's also a boy band called 2AM.]

This should be BIG news. The English Wikipedia article has already been updated; actually, it's been updated more than 200 times in the last 24hrs. I wonder how disastrous this will be for class today....

2PM: "The hottest time of the day."

Good-bye Jae-beom (bottom center)

Korean 텔레비전

텔레비전 = tel-leh-pi-jan = television

I'm unsure if I'll have more or less fun watching Korean TV when I can understand what they're saying...it's fun enough as it is to make up or guess what they're doing. The programming is really different, making it a completely different experiences. The most interesting for me are the K-dramas (Korean dramas) and the comedy/talk shows.

K-dramas: In terms of the plot, Korean dramas are essentially soap operas. However, Korean dramas are limited in length, perhaps only 20 1-hr episodes--not a never-ending saga of stretched plot lines. There's a 99.9% guarantee that the drama will have a love triangle (if not multiple love triangles), and I want to say it's usually a girl and two guys. I've seen bits of some on TV, but really got into (meaning it devoured my time) Winter Sonata, and am now watching Take Care of the Young Lady (or called My Fair Lady). Korea has no or very lax piracy laws, which is great for me; I can find all the episodes online with English subtitles.

Winter Sonata: This was aired in 2002, but was extremely popular. It contributed to the Korean Wave that swept Japan (maybe just now hitting the US) and the rest of Asia. The male lead, Bae Joon Yong, was a middle-aged woman magnet. This was a good first Korean drama experience for me. Little cultural differences were conspicuous. The plot focuses much more on love as a feeling more so than any physical manifestations of love. For example, kisses were rare and hugs were treated very dramatically. There was no sex, but had there been any implications of sex, it would have been scandalous. This may appear very innocent compared to American TV standards.

Take Care of the Young Lady/My Fair Lady: This is good for me to watch because I can discuss it with my students (I sometimes pretend I don't know what's going on and they should explain it to me). It's also healthier than Winter Sonata because it is currently being aired, I am only allowed small doses. The My Fair Lady title fits; the plot is the inverse of the original: a young rich spoilt lady is being civilized (manners) by her poor butler.

Korean comedy and talk shows: This is the most interesting to watch; I never know what's going on. Some shows are extremely random. Tonight, my Ahmma, Jong-Een, and I watched a show about a man's flying squirrel pets that happened to be on. The flying squirrels' appearance reminded me of the compliments I get from Koreans, especially my students: small face and big eyes! The Korean talk shows usually feature Korean celebrities doing random things. The celebrities are guests or part of shows so often that it seems like a part time job. I've seen them having to make campfire seafood dishes, taking care of babies, anything!

Television is currently the number one way to bond with the host-stay family. With Jong-Een, it's the easiet--I just ask her which guy's the cutest.

What my 엄마 did to me

엄마 = awm-ma = mom (my homestay mother)

Look what she did!

No, that's not blood. (Although, I've had a couple tumbles and, consequently, have a stronghold on the Korean words for blood, bandaid, nurse, pharmacy, and medicine). No, this is a form of pampering.

She crused dried flower petals and leaves into balsam to apply to my nails. While watching a Korean drama, she first isolated the nail bed with medical tape, put a small bit of the flower/balsam mix on the nail, then wrapped and tied a strip of plastic around my finger tip. And, oh, by the way, don't take these off till you wake up in the morning!

The result:
There were two rounds: Thursday and Friday night. All ten fingers and big toes too. "When the orange goes away, in two months (!), you'll have pretty fingernails."

I'm not quite sure how this works, in fact I'm doubtful. The nail will grow out and be replaced by new fingernail, to which the flower balsam ointment was not applied. I'm thinking it looks pretty by comparison. In the meantime, it looks like one of my sloppier students took a orange marker to my nails (sorry 엄마). Unless the results are beyond fantastic, I don't think I'll be repeating this. Come back for the after after pictures.

Otherwise, in regards to my 엄마, I can't complain. She fits the role of the general Korean 주부 (chu-bu = housewife). Outside the hours she works as an assistant at her husband's construction company, she's cooking, cleaning, and/or doing laundry. She homecooks everything; we haven't eaten out once since I've been here. It's a lot better than the cafeteria food. I do enjoy the good ol' cereal and milk combo every so often, but there's not many chances. She never lets be hungry enough to go searching for my own food.

She's sweet and caring, but our conversations have been limited--she doesn't speak English. She knows a few words and phrases, like "Good morning/night" and "Let's go". We're learning together...